A Fine Line Between Love and Hate
by KiahWMConnie
Summary: There's a new girl at Han'a High. Her and Rowen clash bigtime. Added bonus: She's a manhater. Why is that? Also, Rowen falls in love, but is it right? NOT a marysue.
1. Meeting Rhonda

A/N: Konnichiwa minna-san! This is my first Ronin Warriors fic so please be gentle T T. Although the two new OCs sounds like a mary-sue, she's not (I hate mary-sues) Please R+R! I won't continue if there are not enough reviews!

Disclaimer: Don't own squat. Don't sue me. You won't get much.

Rowen ran down the street, panting heavily. He mentally cursed his low blood sugar. If it weren't for it, he might have woken up on time…for once.

Rowen was so focused on reaching the school doors he didn't notice what else was around him. With a loud "WHUMP!" he was on the ground, his books scattered. He groaned for a moment before he realized who he ran into. A pink-haired girl was sitting on the concrete and shaking her head.

He opened his mouth to apologize, but before he could say a word, she grabbed her books and ran towards the entrance.

"Watch where you're going next time, Jackass!" she yelled over her shoulder, disappearing into the school doors.

Rowen sat with his friends at the lunch table.

"Hey, guys," he said.

"Rowen, you were late again today!" Ryo teased him.

"Oh, shut up," he laughed, "It wasn't my fault this time!"

"Oh?" Sage asked.

"Yeah, I ran into some girl and she just yelled at me. I've never seen her before."

"Does she have pink hair?" Cye asked.

"Uh, yeah," Rowen replied. How did he know?

"That's probably Rhonda."

"You know her?"

Cye laughed, "She's in my history class. They introduced her. She's an exchange student from America."

"Well, she seemed less than friendly." Rowen rolled his eyes at the previous encounter.

"Eh, give her some time," Kento suggested, "It's only her first day."

Rowen tapped his desk with his pen in boredom. Today was going by really slow for some reason.

"Ah, Miss Maxwell," he heard the teacher say, "Please take a seat next to Mr. Hashiba"

Rowen glanced up to see who was coming. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was the same girl from before! He went into a silent panic mode. Should he pretend that nothing happened? Or should he try to hide his face so she would not recognize him.

As she sat down, Rowen remembered Kento's words.

"Eh, give her some time. It's only her first day."

Rowen took a breath and decided he was right. Class had not officially started yet. He might as well speak to her.

"Hey, you're the new girl from America right?" He asked.

She glanced over and silently nodded. Rowen waited, but no response came.

"What's your name?" he decided to ask.

"Rhonda Maxwell," she replied, this time keeping her eyes on him. She seemed to stare at him for a moment, "Have I met you before? You seem familiar."

Rowen hesitated for a moment, "I'm the Jackass from this morning."

After a few seconds, the look of realization came to her face.

"That was you?"

Rowen nodded and smiled.

"Sorry about that," she replied halfway sarcastic, "I was late."

"Okay, everyone, settle down," the teacher announced, ending they're conversation, "If you remembered the test, you probably remembered it wasn't easy. However, I know that most of you could have done better. Therefore, we are taking the test over."

Many loud groans came from numerous students.

"You should be thankful," he said, "You need a re-take considering the scores."

"But, Mr. Kantu!" A whiner groaned.

"No buts about it. The test is scheduled for next Tuesday. Now, for today's lesson, we will be discussing the electron cloud of the atom."

Everyone began to take out their chemistry books. As Mr. Kantu went on with his lesson, Rowen couldn't help but feel a little awkward. This Rhonda seemed very…cold. There was a cold, almost hateful aura around her.

After a while, the bell finally rang.

'Thank goodness,' Rowen thought. He was finally out of the chemistry class. It's not that he didn't like chemistry, he just didn't like sitting next to _her. _

"Rowen! Wait up!" he heard in the hallway. He turned to see a brunette girl running towards him, her long braid bouncing as she jogged.

"Hi, Maria!" he greeted her.

"What's up? You seemed kinda distracted."

Rowen shrugged, "You know that girl that just transferred?"

Maria thought for a second, "I think so. Why?"

Rowen shrugged again, "She just seemed a little…tense."

"Hmm," she mumbled, "I think I have her next period. I'll see what her problem is. Well, see ya!" She happily ran off.

Rowen laughed as she disappeared into the crowd. He guessed he met her about six months ago; Cye introduced her. Cye had a crush on her, anyone could see that. But she was so wild and restless that she never really showed her true feelings in public. Cye, on the other hand, was so shy that he could never really open up to her. But, who was he to meddle into their business?

Maria finally got into the language class. She sat down and waited for Rhonda to show up.

'So…she's from America too,' she thought.

Before long she saw the pink-pony tailed girl.

"Over here!" She gestured for Rhonda to sit by her. When she did so, Maria asked her, "Haven't seen you before. Where ya from?"

"America," she replied, "I'm an exchange student."

"Cool! Me too."

"Really?" Rhonda asked.

"That's right. What's your name?" Maria asked.

"Rhonda Maxwell."

"Maria Banner," they shook hands.

"What part of America did you live in?" Maria asked.

"Batton Rouge, Louisiana. What about you?"

"Some dinky, little, oil town called Midland, Texas. I've been to Batton Rouge before, though. I loved it there."

"It was quite amazing there," Rhonda laughed.

Maria and Rhonda found themselves visiting and laughing like old friends.

'I wonder what Rowen was talking about? She isn't bad at all. She's actually quite fun."

"Would you like to come over to my house sometime?" Maria asked.

"Sure. What's your phone number?"

After they exchanged numbers, Maria asked, "Is your hair natural?"

Rhonda laughed, "Believe it or not, yes. It was a birth-defect or something."

"I have a friend like that. His hair is naturally blue."

'Blue?' Rhonda thought, 'I wonder…'

Rowen burst through the school doors.

"Finally!" he almost cried, "School's out for the day."

"Rowen! Wait!" he heard once again.

"Maria! Did you find out anything about her?"

That was the question that got her started.

"Are you kidding? I found out a ton! Rhonda's from my part of the U.S. Her hair is natural just like yours, and _Rowen, _she is _smart._ I think she's as smart as you!"

"Oh, really?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. And forget about what you said. I think she's a really awesome person!"

"Well, I have to go now," he said before he turned around and walked away.

"Maria!" Ryo called out, "Have you seen Rowen anywhere?"

"We were looking for him," Cye added.

"Yeah, and I think I just pissed him off."

"Why? What happened?" Kento asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"I'm not sure. I think I said something wrong though."

Ok, folks. I've reposted this after reading a review that I REALLY needed to read.

Note to Isabel Night: Thanks a TON. I'm confused on what you mean by 'Title your story.' and using slang. Please explain. Other than that, I am eternally grateful for the wonderful critique.

Hoorah for chappie 1! I hope this is much better than my previous post. Please R+R! I really need it.


	2. Who is She?

**A/N: **I'm back again. I hope you guys like this so far. It had come to my attention that Baton Rouge is spelled with only one 't.' My apologies go to anyone who lives there. Also, to anyone who's wondering, this takes place sometime after Kikoutei

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate  
KiahWMConnie  
Chapter 2: Who is She?

Rowen walked down the sidewalk, deep in thought.

'What was Maria talking about? Rhonda was a total ice cube,' he sighed, 'Americans… they're so weird.'

When he got home, he plopped onto his bed. Thank goodness he didn't have any homework tonight. He was about to go to sleep, but his stomach said otherwise as it growled. Rowen sighed.

He went to the refrigerator and took out a frozen TV dinner. He set it in the microwave and pressed the buttons.

Rowen chuckled to himself and thought, 'Rowen, old boy, when you get married, you'd better find yourself a good cook. If not, you'll be eating this crap for the rest of your life.'

Rowen took in a deep breath, 'This little apartment has gotten so quiet. Dad's been at work more than usual lately.'

The dinner was still icy in the microwave. Rowen might as well check the answering machine.

beep Hey, man. It's Ryo. Me and Cye were lookin' for ya after school. You left your math folder in my locker. Talk to ya later! beep

beep Rowen? It's Maria. Listen, I think I made you mad today. I'm really sorry if I said anything wrong or hurtful. Heh, you know me. Always talking before I speak! I'll see you tomorrow if you're not mad at me. beep

Rowen smiled. How boring would life be without his friends?

beep Rowen, honey? It's me, your mother.

Rowen froze dead in his tracks.

I'm coming into town in a couple of weeks for a business trip. I thought I'd drop by to see how you two were doing. I'm still not too sure of the details, but I'll let you know. I can't wait to see how much my boy has grown! I have to go now. Good-bye! beep

Rowen was silent and still. His mother was coming? In just a few weeks? It was a bit much for him to take in. He sat in the nearest chair. His mother was coming, he finally conformed. He guessed it was about two or three years since either of them last saw her. It was probably just as well that his parents did not meet often, as it would probably result in another argument.

Rowen almost didn't hear the microwave beeper go off.

* * *

Rhonda fumbled with the keys at her door. She finally got it opened and flung her bag through the entrance. She was finally home. 

"Danny! I'm home!" she called out.

"When's dinner?" she heard in reply and had to giggle. That was her little brother for you.

'Liz should be home soon.'

Rhonda made her way to Danny's room. His room was recognizable by the KEEP OUT signs on his door. She knocked and slowly entered…well, almost.

She actually had to shove the door open because of all the junk. Danny and she were very different when it came to taste in décor. Rhonda's room was very neat and well kept. Danny on the other hand…

"Danny, how's pizza sound for dinner?"

"Fine with me." He replied, sucked into his car magazine.

The phone rang. Rhonda left him to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Rhonda? It's me."

"Hey, Liz!"

"Hey, sis. Listen, I have some bad news. Tayla called in sick and I have to work late tonight and possibly tomorrow."

"Oh…" Rhonda said.

"I'm on my break right now. Do you need me to run and get you and Danny something to eat?"

"No it's okay, I'll just order pizza."

"Okay, how was you're first day at school?"

"Pretty good, actually. I think I met a new friend. Her name's Maria; she's from America too."

"Oh, that's great! You'll have to tell me all about it later. I have to go now. Bye-bye!"

Rhonda smiled as she set the phone back on the hook.

'Ah, Liz,' she thought, 'You do too much for this family. You're not superwoman. You're just twenty.'

Her thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing, again. Liz must've forgotten something.

"Hello?"

"Rhonda? It's Maria."

"Hey, Maria! What's up?"

"Would you like to come over?"

"I'd love to, but I'm stuck watching my little brother."

"Oh," Maria replied, sounding discouraged, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye!"

Rhonda rubbed her eyes. They'd only been in Odawara for two weeks and so much had already happened. It's funny how destiny works sometimes.

* * *

Rowen sat at his desk, very sleepy. How he wished he could be at home right now, in bed. His mind was still focused on his mother. He remembered when he was younger… 

FLASHBACK:

The little boy with blue hair came in crying. His mother rushed over to him. She was in a dark blue, woman's business suit, high heels, and pearls.

"Rowen! Honey! What's wrong!"

"Ma...ma," he spoke through sobs, "I hurt my leg outside," he pointed to his bleeding shin.

"Ooh, that looks pretty bad. Let's get you washed up," she picked up her sobbing child and carried him to the sink. She set him down on the counter.

"It doesn't seem too deep, but we had better get it cleaned."

She gently placed a wet cloth on his leg. Rowen winced, but only for a moment. She wiped off the excess blood from the scrape.

"I swear how a four-year-old boy can get into so much mischief is beyond me."

"I tripped and fell on some rocks. It wasn't my fault," he sniffed.

She giggled, "Oh, Rowen, you are so much like your father…so smart and cute," she tickled his nose which made him giggle as well, "Oh, dear! I'm late for my appointment. I'll see you tonight dear."

"Hm?" he replied. He wanted her to stay! But before he could say anything, she was gone.

Suddenly a dark figure appeared before him. After shouting "Take this, you worthless boy!" he threw a stack of papers at the terrified Rowen. They hit him and knocked him off the counter. He could only hear the sound of him laughing. In his confusion, he could see the writing on the paper; they all read, "DIVORCE".

"Wake up, Rowen!" he heard someone scream, "Wake up!"

"_WHAM!_" Rowen awoke extremely startled. He could hear the sounds of others snickering. He looked up to see an extremely irritated teacher. He then looked at the dictionary on his desk that had woken him up.

"You were sleeping in class again, Mr. Hashiba," she fumed.

'No kidding,' he thought right before the bell rang, 'Stupid dream. Why did it have to bring it back?'

* * *

**A/N: **I know it's been a while. But there's a reason. I was planning to update Monday, but because of my other story, "The Ronin Song," I was put on hold until 3/7. TT It was so frustrating because I went to check the rules to see if it was okay, only to find it had been deleted about two hours earlier. TT WHY! 

I'm cool now though. I've learned my lesson and have accepted the punishment and the crime as my responsibility. Thank you to all of those who liked my story and supported it. Sorry it was a failure.

Now that I'm off my soapbox, I can talk about happy spring break! You guys will most likely get a few more updates. Now you can all rejoice…or cry…whatever floats your boat.


	3. Tension, is There?

**A/N:** Does a white, victory danceSingingI have reviews, I have reviews! Here's chapter three. Rejoice. I had someone review me saying that Rhonda was a Mary-Sue. I assure you people she is **not** a Mary-Sue. I'll explain below.

**Disclaimer:** I own everything here..._not!_ Well, except for Maria, Rhonda, Danny, and Liz.

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate  
KiahWMConnie  
Chapter three: Tension, is there?

Maria looked through the crowd of hungry students, searching for a pink ponytail. She spotted it.

"Rhonda!" she ran to her new friend, nearly knocking over several of her peers.

Rhonda greeted the almost-scary Texan.

"You look really tired," Maria commented, "Did your little bro keep you up or something?"

"Heh, yeah, pretty much," she laughed as they sat down.

"You know, I never asked your brother's name."

"It's Danny. I also have an older sister named Liz. What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

"Yes, my older brother, Derrick. He's back in Midland," Maria glanced down for a moment. When she looked up she saw the boys, "Be back in a moment."

She ran over and half-way tackled a certain British boy.

"What's up guys?" she giggled as she held Cye's neck in her arm, making him blush furiously.

"Hi, Maria," the others chuckled in unison at Cye's expression.

Maria let go of Cye and sat at the table, "Where's Ro?"

"Present," he responded as he came up to the table.

"Hey, Rowen!" she laughed, "Did you get my message?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

Rhonda watched from a distance what they were doing. They were all talking and laughing. She particularly watched the blue-haired one. Rowen, was it? He was wearing a simple purple T-shirt and blue jeans. He was very sloppy in the way he dressed and acted. Rhonda wasn't sure why, but there was just something about him that got on her nerves.

Rhonda got up and threw away her trash and began to walk over to where Maria was.

"So, Rowen," Maria started, "I found out that you and Rhonda have a lot in common."

"Really?" Rowen raised an eyebrow.

"Yep! She's really smart, she lives in an apartment, and her hair is not quite so average!"

Everyone laughed.

"You gotta admit," Kento laughed, "Rowen's pretty easy to pick out in a crowd!"

Rowen got up with his tray and said jokingly, "You guys suck, you know it?"

Rowen spun around and suddenly, "CRASH!" he ran into someone.

The boys and Maria were silent.

Rowen suddenly realized who he ran into; his eyes went wide. Rhonda stood there half-covered in meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas, and lemonade. Time seemed to stand still.

The silence was broken by the surrounding tables. Laughter and finger-pointing was aimed at one, particular, fuming American. Rowen didn't know if he should apologize or laugh.

"You jerk!" she yelled at him, "Are you blind! Watch where you're goin'!"

"Excuse me? I wouldn't have hit you if you weren't right behind me!"

"How dare you! Why don't you go work on your manners or something?"

"Well, excuuuse me for being human."

"Rhonda," Maria got up and tried to calm down her friend, "Now, it was just an accident. It's no one's fault."

Rhonda stomped off in anger towards the bathroom, leaving behind a dumbfounded group of friends.

"Sorry, guys, Rowen," Maria apologized quickly before running after Rhonda.

* * *

Maria slammed the bathroom door. Thankfully, no one else was in there.

"What is wrong with you!" she yelled at Rhonda, who was wiping off herself.

"Excuse me?" she shot an annoyed glance.

"Rhonda," Maria began, a little calmer, "Those are my friends back there, and so are you. Please don't make me have to play peace-maker."

Rhonda sighed, "I'm sorry I blew up back there. But still, there's just something about that Rowen that makes me uneasy."

"And what's that?"

"He's just…"

"Yes?"

"He's just…he's…he's just another _guy_!" she threw the paper towel down.

"What did you expect him to be? A banana!"

Rhonda sighed and leaned against the sink, "I'm sorry, Maria. It's just that…oh, I don't know. He just makes me tense for some reason. More than usual…"

"Is there something you have against guys?"

Rhonda groaned, "It's a long story."

Maria detected a hint of sadness in her voice. She wanted to hear her explanation, but the bell rang instead.

"See ya," Rhonda sighed and quickly left the room. This was great. Rhonda just wanted to go home. She managed to get the food off, but she still felt dirty, not to mention she reeked of cafeteria food.

Rhonda and Rowen avoided each other for the rest of the week. However, there was tension in the air. Anyone could feel it.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sorry for the shortness, but I think I'll be busy for awhile and I wanted to get at least one update in over spring break.

To the person who reviewed me, please don't take offense to this. I know for a fact that Rhonda is no Mary-Sue. One, a MS is the authoresses' perfect self inserted into fanfiction. Rhonda is **_not_** me by a long shot. Two, MS is completely flawless and the most gorgeous woman in the world. Rhonda is not flawless; far from it, actually, and it will show later in the story. She isn't butt-ugly, but she's not super-model-material either. Three, even though she is smart, she isn't as smart as Rowen (which will lead to some pretty funny stuff later on) though Maria thinks so at first. Four, I made her an exchange student so it will be believable without me having to do any hard-core research (a.k.a. I'm lazy. Haha). Five, I don't know why strange hair color is a characteristic of a MS. It's anime, people. They're supposed to have weird hair.

Again, please don't take offense. I just wanted to clarify some things. The last thing I want is a fight. I'd tell more, but I don't want to spoil anything. Thanks for the review, anyways. Also, my apologies go to those who had to read all of that.

Arigato, keep reviewing!

P.S. I'm sorry about my crazy friend, anime-tenshi10. She gets p.o.'ed sometimes to the point of mass destruction. HAHA! I imagine her with demonic eyes and background flames while writing that.

P.P.S. I may or may not re-write The Ronin Song. If I do, I will make sure and follow guidelines and actually put some plot into it. Still, I'm kind of paranoid since the previous incident. I don't want another penalty! oO That would suck big-time.


	4. Tensions Increase

**A/N:** Ever write parts of a really good story and can't wait to get there, but you're not sure _how_ to get there? That's how I am right now. Don't worry! I'm not giving up on this story. I once read in a writing guide, "Writing is 5 inspiration and 95 work." I ought to put that in the quotes in my bio. Ha-ha!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Ronin Warriors, would I really be writing this?

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate

KiahWMConnie

Chapter Four: Tensions Increase

Rhonda looked out the window of the chemistry room and sighed. Oh, how she wished she could be home right now. True, school was easy. Class was easy. Homework was easy. Schedules were easy. P.E. was easy. There was only one problem: it was _boring_.

"Okay class, listen up. This is very important," Mr. Kantu announced, "In one week, we will be doing a class project. You will all be put in groups of two, one boy and one girl. In this project, you must pretend that you are married."

Several laughs and giggles were heard in the class.

"Yes, yes. I know, it's very amusing, but you need to work together with your partner in order to accomplish this. More details will come later this week."

Rhonda scanned the room for possible 'significant others.' This was just great.

'I'll bet not a single one of these monkeys can pass this class,' she thought. She laid eyes on Rowen who was seemingly uninterested. A funny thought came to her mind.

'That would be the end of the world…' she almost laughed out loud.

"I'm still deciding," Mr. Kantu continued, "On who the partners will be. And NO, you cannot request who your partner will or will not be. With that said, I will now pass back your tests."

Groans came from the students like they so often did.

"Now these test scores were better than the last ones'," he slowly went around giving various comments to students. He came to Rhonda, "Not bad for your first test in here, Miss Maxwell."

Rhonda picked up her test and looked at the score. A 97. This was great! Mr. Kantu's class wasn't the easiest class, that was for sure. Rhonda felt proud of herself.

He came to Rowen, "Mr. Hashiba, It's to be expected…"

Rhonda's curiosity was stirred a bit. What kind of a student was he? Rowen sheepishly put his test away, but Rhonda was able to see the grade. Her eyes bulged.

'A 108? How is that possible!' her mind screamed, 'He doesn't seem like the studious type _at all_. How the heck could he land a grade like that?' Rhonda thought hard for a moment, 'He probably cheated. But, Mr. Kantu said it was expected. Does he usually cheat? No, Mr. Kantu would never allow that.'

"Miss Maxwell, I'm sure you like staring at Mr. Hashiba, but could you please concentrate in class?"

Everyone laughed. Rhonda was utterly mortified. She ducked her head slightly to hide her tomato-red face. She didn't notice Rowen's expression as she dared not to look over there.

Rowen was blushing as well. What the hey was she staring at _him_ for? He thought she hated him.

'She was probably glaring at you,' his little voice told him. That was most likely true. She seemed to hate anyone who came within two feet of her…well, except for Maria.

Rowen got a funny look on his face, 'Those two have been inseparable from day one.'

The bell rang and Rowen scurried out to avoid contact with Rhonda.

"You okay, Rhon?" Maria asked at the lunch table. She developed a nickname for her friend.

"You mind if I ask you a question?" Rhonda whispered.

"As long as it's not about my criminal records, go ahead."

They giggled and Rhonda asked, "Well, yesterday I found out that on Mr. Kantu's test, I made a 97."

"Wow! That's great. I only made a 91."

"That's not the point. I have that class with Rowen and he made a 108! How could he do that!"

Maria stared for a second, and then laughed, "I guess I should've told you about him. He's, well…he's not an average student. In fact, he's _way_ above average!"

Rhonda was skeptical, "What's his I.Q.?"

Maria looked around then said quietly to Rhonda, "You didn't hear this from me but…" she leaned forward and whispered a number in Rhonda's ear.

"What!" she jolted back, "250? That's impossible!"

"Rhonda, sshhh!" Maria said.

"There's no way," Rhonda stated, firmly.

"I know it's hard to believe, especially for a guy like him, but it's true."

Rhonda looked over to where he was eating with his friends. He was fighting for a sandwich with an ash-haired boy. Kento, was his name? There was just something about Rowen that made her irritated, almost angry.

"I think I know why you don't like him," Maria seemed to read her mind.

"And what's that?"

Maria chuckled, "You don't see it? You two are a _lot_ alike!"

"What!" Rhonda exclaimed.

"Think about it," Maria gestured with her fingers to count, "You're both incredibly smart, you both have weird hair, you like to sleep, you always think things through, and you live in apartments."

"There's no way I could be like him!" Rhonda almost sneered.

"Yeah, well I gotta admit," Maria replied thoughtfully, "Y'all have a lot of differences too. But still, the reason you two don't get along great is because you seem to clash."

"Tch," Rhonda shrugged, "Yeah, right."

'250! It's not possible…especially for a _male_.'

The normal conversations went on at the boys' table. Rowen looked around the room, uninterested. He spotted Rhonda and Maria talking. They seemed to be whispering; Rhonda was shaking her head a lot.

Rowen felt uneasy. He didn't know if it was the food or that he had Rhonda in his next period. He was _still_ mortified from yesterday's indecent and the event in the lunchroom. He was sure of one thing though: he would try to avoid her for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately for Rowen, fate would work against him as it so often did.

**A/N:** This chapter seems a lot shorter than others. Oh, well. Life goes on.

I'm **really** having fun with this fic. BTW, there will be a lot more Rowen in the story. I just wanted to give a general view of Rhonda before I go in-depth with Ro.


	5. Memories of Mother

**A/N:** Easter weekend is this Friday! Yosh! The rating on this story may go up. There might be some dark stuff later on. I also might have to put this story on hold for a week or two. School has been a **royal** pain-in-the-butt lately.

A scene coming up is from _Tenkuden _with a few changes I imagine that most people here haven't heard it before.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Ronin Warriors, there would have been a **lot** more fan-service.

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate  
KiahWMConnie  
Chapter Five: Memories of Mother

* * *

Rowen plopped down on his bed. He managed to get through the rest of the day without having to deal with Rhonda. Nearly a week had gone by and he hadn't seen his father. A sudden thought came to his mind.

Mom was coming pretty soon.

He didn't know why, but the thought of his mother coming made Rowen nervous. He still hadn't told his father.

'I wonder how he would react.' He thought. He laughed at the last time his mother came to visit.

**FLASHBACK**

Rowen and Sage were standing around the airport, talking casually. A sudden voice rang out from the opposite end of the airport.

"ROWEN-KUUUUUNN!"

Sage gawked, "T-that's her!"

"I told you already, she is very different."

"You're right. She doesn't look like a mother."

"I'm sorry!" His mother yelled when she got to them, "Some trouble happened and the plane was delayed!"

"I understand," Rowen sheepishly smiled.

"It's so rare!" she yelled, "Rowen came and welcomed me in the airport!"

"I'm just…around."

"Hmm," she cried, "But I'm SO GLAD! Oh…" she paused when she saw a handsome young blond.

"It's nice to meet you," Sage greeted, wide-eyed.

"The same for me," she replied.

"This is my mother, Kasan," Rowen said to Sage, "And this is my friend."

"I'm Sage Date," Sage finished for him.

"GYAAA! It's unbelievable!" she clapped her hands together.

"Um, yes?" Sage asked, almost afraid.

"Because, you are so much more awesome than what I heard from Rowen!"

Sage paused for a moment, "…Thank you." He then turned to Rowen, "What did you say about me?" he asked, almost threatening-like.

"Date-kun, you are flirted by the ladies, yes?"

"…Yes."

"I'm so glad Rowen's friend is so handsome!" Kasan gushed.

"Um, Mother? I won't feel bad if my friend is praised, but…"

"That's right!" Kasan cut her son off, "I want to say hello to the others that are taking care of you."

"Everyone else is waiting in the lobby," Sage informed her.

"I'm glad! I can't wait to see them."

"It's okay," Rowen tried to calm her down, "I'm not a child, and you don't need to say hello to anyone for me."

"What are you talking about? I WANT to meet them. It's unfair that only you have the chance."

"By the way," Rowen tried to change the subject, "How are New York and Los Angeles?"

"It's busy, but it's wonderful," she replied, "Japanese people would never have such power. It's important that people have an international sense from now on. Wait for me here. I have to make a phone call down there!" She happily ran off.

Sage almost whispered, "I see…she IS different."

"You got it."

**END FLASHBACK**

Rowen continued to laugh. He loved his mother. Even though he was always so mature and cold-seeming around her, he did love her. She was his mom, afterall. He missed talking with her. She was gone a lot when she was still married, but since the divorce, years went by without words being exchanged between them.

A door slam was heard by Rowen.

'Dad must be home,' he thought.

"Dad?" he called out, "You home?"

"Ya...I'm going to bed." was a faint reply.

Rowen sighed. Typical. Oh, well, his father probably deserved a good rest. He decided not to bother him.

Rowen lied back down to rest. His mind wandered to school: the upcoming science project and other homework. He wondered what is was about and who his partner would be. Would he end up with another brainy person or some ding-dong ditz? There was too much stress in this.

A funny thought crossed Rowen's mind. He imagined being paired up with a certain pink-haired know-it-all. Rowen laughed again.

What was it about that Rhonda girl? She was so rude and...well, cold. Rowen noticed it the first time he saw her a few weeks ago. He noticed later, however, that she was a _completely_ different person around Maria. From afar, she was much more friendly and personable. He just didn't get it.

She seemed so hypocritical(sp?), and Rowen hated hypocrites.

He grabbed his pillow and crushed it on his face and moaned into it. Too much stress indeed...

* * *

Rowen once again found himself at his desk in Chemistry.

"Okay class, I've got everything about the project sorted out," Mr. Kantu began, "The reason for this project is because of a program passed through the school recently. Once a year, one class is given the assignment of a pshycological experiment. Guess which class was selected this year?

"In this experiment, you will be given a pretend spouse, as I have explained before. You will be required to spend at least five hours a day together. Every day, you will write a small report of what has happened over the last day. This project will last about three weeks. Now, for the couples."

Everyone zoned into the names being called, anxious to know who they would be paired with.

"Mr. Takeda and Miss Nikashe," he called them out, "Mr. Yoshitika and Miss Saigo, Mr. Morureyu and Miss Ruhea, Mr. Dosuchi and Miss Mukugurabu..." he went on and on with the list. There was a twinkle of evil laughter in his eye when he came to the last two names.

"Mr. Hashiba and Miss Maxwell."

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, come on...like you didn't see that one coming. Ooo, a cliffy! Hehe, I'm so evil. I will try to get back to this story ASAP! And yes, you will get to meet his mother(or at least my version of her) later on in the story. Please review!

P.S. If you think the fights in this are bad so far, just you wait...the earth **will** shake.


	6. Stupid School Project!

**A/N:** Back by popular demand! (AT10: you wish! Me: SHADDAP!) Sorry to leave you guys on that cliffy. There's some cussing in this chapter, but hey!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but my own OC's.

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate  
KiahWMConnie  
Chapter Six: Stupid School Project!

'Mr. Hashiba and Miss Maxwell,' the sentence rang through her head. Did she hear right? She was paired up with, of all people, HIM! The jerk? Rowen Hashiba, himself?

Most of the class was silent, but a few snorts and giggles were heard.

Rowen was confused and slighty embarrassed and angry. What the hell was Kantu thinking? Anyone could see they didn't get along well.

Mr. Kantu continued along as if everything were natural, "This will begin tomorrow morning. Now, will you all please leave your desks and sit by your selected partner?"

Everyone did as they told. Rowen hesitated, but he got up and took his belongings over to the seat next to Rhonda's. She didn't even glance at him, much less talk to him.

Mr. Kantu went on with instructions about how the reports were to be done and how they would all recieve special notebooks for the reports. After he was done, the class chatted with each other about how exciting this would be. Rhonda, Rowen noticed, still didn't recognize his existance. He decided to break the silence.

He teased in a mock tone, "What's wrong? Are you not okay with this?"

Rhonda immediatly snapped back, "That's the understatement of the century! I can't believe I wound up with _you_."

"Hey," Rowen put up his hands defensively, "It's not like I wanted this either! But we can't do anything about it."

"We'll see about that," Rhonda hissed, "Mr. Kantu-"

"No," he cut her off, never taking his eyes off his work, "You can not change partners."

Rhonda gawked for a moment then turned away. She whipped around at hissed at Rowen, "You are so going to hate this, I'll make sure of it."

The anger in Rowen swelled. How dare she speak like that to him? What the hell did he do to her? He probably would've snapped at her if Mr. Kantu hadn't spoken.

"By the way," he directed to the class, "You must work together on this. If your partner fails," He looked directly at Rowen and Rhonda, "You fail."

* * *

"ROWEN!" a familiar voice screamed out at him after school. He turned around. Maria was running towards him with lightning speed, dragging Cye along with her.

"Hey, Maria," he sighed, not really in the mood to talk.

"Guess what? Cye and I are partners for the big project!" she put her arm around Cye's torso in a friendly hug. Cye turned red immediatly.

"That's great," Rowen chuckled at Cye's expression.

"So, who'd you get?" she asked, eager to know.

"No," he replied.

"Come again?"

"You'd just laugh."

"Oh come on," she pleaded, "I _promise_ I won't laugh. On my honor!"

"NO!"

"Come on!" Cye and Maria pleaded.

Rowen sighed, "Fine. It's...Rhonda Maxwell," he said with much dread and a hint of anger.

Maria replied, "...Well...t-that's snort umm...that's too hmph bad." she was obviously struggling to hold back her laughter.

Cye held his hand over his mouth to conceal his smile. He had barely-surpressed laughter. Rowen noticed all of this.

He sighed again, "See you tomorrow," and walked off.

After he was out of earshot, Cye and Maria chuckled together.

"I don't believe it!" Maria wiped away a tear, "This is gonna be good!"

"You said it!" Cye laughed, "I'll be shocked if they both survive!"

* * *

Rhonda wearily picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" Maria's voice came on the other end.

"Maria? I'ts me."

"Hey, Rhon!"

"Listen, can I come over for a few minutes?"

"Of course! My place is your place."

* * *

Rhonda collapsed lazily in the bean-bag chair. Maria and she discussed the lastest events happining in school.

"So," Maria began, "I heard you were paired with Rowen in the big project."

"UUGH!" she dropped her head back as she grunted. Maria giggled.

"Y'know, Ro's not such a bad guy. You should take the time to really meet him."

"Yeah right," Rhonda huffed, "I don't want to spend any more time with him than I have to."

"I do believe that the project required for you to spend at least five hours a day together," Maria mocked.

Rhonda put her hands in her face and whimpered. Maria just laughed.

"How am I gonna survive this!" Rhonda groaned.

"Hit 'em," Maria suggested.

"What!"

"Hit 'em. To really get something into head, you gotta knock it in sometimes."

Rhonda stared for a moment, then just shook her head.

"I'm not gonna survive," she confirmed.

"Tch. I think I feel sorrier for Ro than you," Maria muttered as she took a gulp of root beer.

"Oh, shut up."

They were quiet for a moment as Maria finished her root beer.

"Hey...who'd you get for the project?"

Maria answered with a grand-prize bealch, "BUUUURRP!"

"Maria! You are _NUTS_!"

"BUAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Rhonda waved the air away from her, "Seriously, who'd you get?"

"Cye," Maria beamed between laughs.

Rhonda thought for a moment, "The British boy who's Rowen's friend?"

"The one and only," Maria paused, "You should meet them sometime."

"Tch," Rhonda replied.

* * *

Rhonda sulked in her chair. She did _not_ want to be in this class.

Rowen did the same. He could think of a million more places he'd rather be. But, _noooo!_ He had to sit next to Miss Pain-in-the-Ass.

"Class," Mr. Kantu began, "There will be a few certain requirement for the project this week. You will receive one today. Tomorrow you will probably have another. Sometime this week, you are required to go with your partner to the grocery store and spend at least 30 minutes there. Whether or not you actually buy something is up to you."

'Great,' Rhonda and Rowen thought at the same time.

* * *

Rowen was talking casually to Ryo and Sage.

"Ryo! Hurry up!" a distant voice called.

"Coming, Sakura!" he called back, "See you guys later."

"So," Rowen said to Sage as Ryo left, "You wanna do somethin' tonight?"

Sage looked at his watch, "Shoot. I can't. I'm supposed to meet _my_ partner at the store. Maybe tomorrow!" he ran off.

Rowen sighed. It would seem that he was alone again. Then he spotted Rhonda...

'_Sigh_, might as well get this over with.'

He walked over to her seemingly confident, but inside was a nervous wreck. He tapped her shoulder.

"Do you want to get it over with tonight?"

Rhonda whipped around, startled. She yelled at him, "Didn't your mother teach you not to sneak up on people!"

He inwardly cringed at the mention of his mom.

'Don't get mad at her,' he told himself, 'She doesn't know any better.'

"And to answer your question," she continued, "I can't. I have to help my sister tonight."

She stomped off, leaving behind a dumbfounded and rather irritated Rowen. Steam came from his ears.

He shouted to the air, "Someone, please tell me why she is always so pissed at me! What did I ever do! I was never hateful towards her until she was to me!"

As Rowen continued to shout at nobody, he was getting quite a few stares. Three of the stares belonged to his friends in the distance.

"What in the heck...?" Kento spoke.

"Let him rant it out," Cye told them, "He'll be better tomorrow."

Maria just laughed. Kento and Cye wondered why she was laughing.

* * *

**A/N:**Wow...I can't believe it's already chapter six. I honestly expected to give up on this around four. Shows you just how hard-working I am. Ha-ha!

Kasan(Rowen's mom) probably won't show up until much later chapters. The next chapter is gonna be fun! Until next time!

**P.S.**If you want to talk about the characters, feel free to email me or put it in a review! I love talking about characters!


	7. Grocery Shopping

**A/N:** Hello everyone! I love this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ronin Warriors...unfortunately.

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate  
KiahWMConnie  
Chapter Seven: Grocery Shopping

"Rhoonnnda..." a woman's voice softly called, "Come heeere."

Rhonda slowly opened here eyes, "Who-who's there?"

"It's me..."

Rhonda didn't know who she was, who the voice belonged to. However, it seem _so_ familiar.

"Listen to me..." the voice directed, "...Stay with it. Don't give up."

"Huh...?"

"RHONDA!"

She snapped awake.

"Get up and get down here! You're gonna be late for school," Liz was yelling at her.

Lying in her bed, Rhonda whimpered.

* * *

The day had passed relatively uneventful, except for the little incident in P.E. Maria and she caused a little raucous with the whole cherrybomb-in-the-snotty-cheerleader's-locker gag. 

Just outside of the school, Rhonda enjoyed the small breeze winding around her pale rose locks. She almost got lost in the calming moment, until...

"Rhonda!" a familiar, irritating voice called.

'Why?'

She gritted her teeth and turned around. If looks could kill...

She said slowly, "What do you want, Hashiba?"

He blinked a few times and huffed, "We were supposed to do that store thing today."

Rhonda mentally kicked herself. How could she forget? Damn it...

She sighed, "Fine. Let's get this over with," She turned and began walking towards the store. Thank goodness it wasn't very far away.

They were completely silent on the way there; Rowen always a few steps behind Rhonda. She was very uncomfortable with it...always feeling watched, like he was staring at her or something. She was relieved when the sliding doors opened.

When Rowen saw that Rhonda was just standing and glancing around, he decided to do what he came for.

"Hey, where are you going?" Rhonda asked when he got a basket.

"My dad's not home right now, I might as well get some food."

Rhonda was confused by his explaination, but decided to follow him. She was completely silent as she watched him throw miscellaneous items into the basket. He seemed pretty independent for himself. He tossed in a bag of cookies.

"You know those are bad for your health, right?"

Rowen turned around smugly, "I'm sorry," he chuckled sarcastically, "I've never been the type who really gives a damn about that stuff."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. As a few minutes went by, a thought came to her mind, 'Why doesn't his mom get the groceries? He said something about his dad not being home or something. Hmm...'

"Did you hear me?"

Rhonda snapped out of her thoughts.

"Oh, never mind," Rowen grumbled, "I forgot you don't listen to anyone."

"Excuse, me! What is your problem?" she bit back at him.

Rowen chuckled, "My problem? You're the one who treats others like dirt!"

"All men are dirt," she barely whispered while gritting her teeth. Rowen caught the remark.

"Okay, hold up! Do you hate all guys or just me in particular?"

Rhonda glared for a moment, then sneered, "Both."

She stomped off, out of the produce section as Rowen looked on in disbelief and anger. He found her several minutes later in an unoccupied aisle.

"So," he directed at her, "Is this where all the hags hang out?"

Rhonda immediatly whipped around, "Why don't you just go die in your room or something?" she whispered to herself, giving him the evil eye.

Rowen didn't seem to hear it. He turned and began to walk away, but not before muttering under his breath.

"Bitch."

Rhonda heard and was instantly filled with rage. How...dare he?

"BANG!"

Rowen was suddenly on the floor with a lump on his head. He shook his head and looked up in time to see an orange rolling across the floor in front of him. He got up and turned around.

"Where'd the orange come from!" he shouted.

"I borrowed it from the produce section," an cold, cruel smile came to her face, "Thought I might use it for later use...and once again, I was right."

Rowen's pupils narrowed slightly.

* * *

"Hello?" Cye answered his phone. 

"CYE!" Maria yelled on the opposite end.

"Hi, Maria," Cye smiled.

"HOLY FRAPPIN' CRAP! Did you hear that Ro and Rhon went to the store today?"

"Oh, really?" He laughed.

"Ya! They should be there now."

"I'll be sure to read about it in the papers tomorrow," he joked.

"You really don't think they'll survive 'till summer?"

"I don't think they'll survive the project, let alone the rest of the school year."

"You wanna bet?" Maria asked in low, daring voice.

Cye didn't care for that tone of voice, he rarely did.

"What do you mean?" he asked warily.

Maria chuckled, "I'll bet you five bucks that they'll 180 before either of them are dead."

He laughed out loud, as did she. Of course, she wasn't serious about it.

"Fine, I'll go with your little bet."

Again, they both shared a hearty laugh.

* * *

The two had drawn quite a crowd. They continued to yell and hurl insults at each other. 

"Excuse me," a woman whispered in her cell phone, "You might want to get security down here."

"I hope your heart gets crushed!"

"Okay, listen up, Pinky-"

"How many times do I have to tell you, Smurf? Don't call me Pinky!"

Rowen grabbed a nearby bottle of whipped cream, "How'd you like for that pink hair to be all white?" he treatened as he walked forward.

"You wouldn't dare."

In less than a second, Rowen had the cap off and was spraying it mercilessly in her hair. Rhonda began screaming. She grabbed the nearest thing she could find. Flour? Eh, it'd do.

Rowen, waist-up, was suddenly a ghostly white. They both grabbed whatever they could find and threw it at the enemy. There was a massive cloud of food in aisle 10. It was a horrible food fight.

Scratch that. A food fight is an event where rebellious people throw food at each other, all while having _fun._ This was no "fun". This was a _battle._ A food fight to the death.

Rowen had the upper hand. He was able to throw things repeatedly without having to break, much to the anger and frustration of Rhonda.

'Heh, guess shooting all those arrows in the Dynasty can come in handy sometimes,' he thought.

It was like a massacre. Both gave their all; they would not be defeated by the other. Pride controlled the battle.

Before either of them knew it, they both felt strong hands on their shoulders. After much kicking and screaming(mostly by Rhonda), they both wound up on the ground outside of the store.

'We got thrown out!' Rhonda thought, covered in food, 'I don't believe it! It's all because of _him_.'

"Well, _that_ went well!" Rowen dusted off some of the leftover flour.

Rhonda jolted up and began to stomp off.

"Hey! Whaddya know?" Rowen's sarcastic humor kicked in, "We stayed in there for the whole, required time!"

She stopped in her tracks, her fist was tightly clenched.

"I hate you!" she screamed at him. Venom dripped from her voice, "I hate everything _about_ you! I never want to see you again. I don't want to spend anymore time with you than I absolutely have to. GOODBYE!" she ran off to her house.

* * *

Her pace had slowed to a walk; it was starting to get dark. She could still feel the cream in her hair. 

Her forehead wrinkled, 'This is the second time he's covered me in food.'

* * *

Rowen was restless that night. As he tossed and turned, Rhonda's words kept playing over and over again in his head. How could one person have so much hate in their heart? He just didn't understand it. He was also extremely enraged at her actions. True, Rowen fought back...and kinda beat her, but still, she was the one who started it! If she only knew who she was dealing with. 

'Come on, Ro! She's just some stupid American. You shouldn't let her get to you. You are the bearer of the Armor of Strata! You could wipe her out in just a second.'

That was certainly true. He sadistically smiled as he imagined himself in the armor. He would be flying and shooting at a running, screaming Rhonda. Not actually killing her...just scaring the bejeezus out of her.

But still, the events of the day bothered the devil out of him. For once, Rowen was unable to sleep.

'I'll be sure to get back at her for this.'

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry it's been such a long time, but it's finally here. I hope that scene of the food fight wasn't confusing or anything. Again, I'm really sorry about the delay. I've had a lot of stress lately about the other fics onthis site and some other projects(namely school and my mangas). On top of that, I've been having some trouble with my dad. So please understand if this fic is put on hold for a little while in the future. 

Good news, however: SCHOOL'S ALMOST OUT! Whoopah! Only about five or six more weeks. I'll be in Washington DC sometime in May. If anyone's there, look for me! I'll be the crazy tourist.


	8. A Bartender Named Liz

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Time for another chapter! Whee!

**Disclaimer:** Once apon a time, someone owned Ronin Warriors...it wasn't me.

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate  
KiahWMConnie  
Chapter eight: A Bartender Named Liz

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Maria's laugh was heard throughout the lunchroom.

"It's not that funny!" Rhonda yelled at her, "We got thrown out!"

"That's what's funny about it! HAHAHA!"

Rhonda gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to lunge herself at Maria and choke her with her braid. But, their conversation was suddenly overshadowed...literally, by a large junior was standing by their table.

"Will you two shut up?" he threatened slowly.

Maria raised an eyebrow. Rhonda's eyes began to flame.

"Some of us are trying to eat. Now if you don't shut up, I'll bust in that pretty, little skull of yours!" he cracked his knuckles.

* * *

From the other side of the cafeteria, Cye noticed what was going on, and Kento noticed where his attention was. 

Kento started to get up to go pound the guy for picking on the ladies,but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

Cye looked him in the eye, "Trust me. They can 'andle it."

* * *

Maria began to laugh. The bully slammed his fist on the table. 

"Ah blow my nose at 'chu!" Maria shouted.

He blinked, "What?"

Rhonda stared dumbfoundedly at her.

"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!"

He was quiet for a while, then raised an ugly finger at her.

"This isn't over, American," he sneered, "For either of you." He stomped away angry and very confused.

Maria was smiling until she saw Rhonda's expression.

"What?"

Rhonda stared for a moment, "Monty Python?"

Maria shrugged and laughed, "It seemed appropriate at the time."

"I can't believe you," she shook her head and smiled.

* * *

Rowen walked down the barely lit streets. 

'What a day,' he sighed, 'What a day.'

Rhonda and he had to discuss the upcoming week in chemistry. To say the least, it didn't go very well. On top of that, Dad was super busy at work. He probably wouldn't be home for another week.

Rowen needed to escape, to just take a walk. He spotted a bar. It didn't seem to be crowded, so he walked in.

A pretty young woman walked up to the bar, "Can I see some ID?" she asked.

"I'm not here to drink," he chuckled, "I just need to sit somewhere."

The woman smiled and handed him a glass of water. Rowen smiled back in gratitude. She was very beautiful, though she seemed very tired.

She wasn't Japanese. Her skin was more pink. Curly, light-brown hair framed her large brown eyes. She looked about early-twenties.

"So, why are you out at this late hour?"

"Rough week at school. I'm so happy it's Friday. By the way, I'd figured that this place would be more crowded on a Friday."

"Heh. I guess you just caught us on an unbusy night. This place is usually very crowded."

The two went on chatting and chuckling for a while.

"What's your name?" he asked unexpectedly.

She hesitated. There was something extremely familiar about this boy.

"It's Liz," she said simply.

"Liz. I'm Rowen."

It hit her. This was the boy that Rhonda loathed! But, he seeme like a _really_ nice boy. He was pretty cute too.

'Sigh. Sorry kid sister.' she silently apologized.

"So, what is it at school that has you so stressed?"

Rowen emptily chuckled, "A girl."

"Oh? Girl problems?"

"Yeah, but not like _that_. _Trust _me."

"Well, what is it then?" Liz smirked.

"Simple. She's a bitch."

Liz blinked a couple of times. She didn't expect him to be _that_ blunt. Nonetheless, she continued their conversation.

"Well, why is she such a bitch?" she asked, knowing the general answer. Rhonda _was_ a real pain-in-the-ass sometimes.

"I don't know!" Rowen playfully threw his arms up, "For the life of me, I can't think of what I've done to her! She just...she just hates me for some reason."

"What does she do?" Liz pressed for him to spill all. She smelled blackmail.

"Well, for starters, we got kicked out of the grocery store the other day. A major food fight happened."

Liz supressed a laugh.

"It's weird. I have this friend who's the best friend of the girl..."

'Maria?' she thought.

"...and she swears up and down that she is one of the nicest girls she ever met. From a distance, she seems happy, but whenever I'm near, she's like Medusa herself."

Liz let out a giggle. It would seem that Rhonda's little "split personality" was showing up in school.

Hours went by. Rowen and Liz talked together like old friends. There they were, two people, talking and laughing, having nothing in common except for knowing one girl. Enemy to one, sister to the other, yet here they were.

Rowen noticed the clock.

"Oh, geez! I gotta get home!"

"Hmm?"

Rowen sighed, "I have to go to the park tomorrow, and I usually don't get up until noon an Saturdays," he gave Liz an apologetic look as he got up, "Sorry. I gotta split."

Liz smiled, "S'ok. Come again sometime!" She waved goodbye.

"Bye!"

Liz sighed and leaned against the counter, 'Just keep up with her, bud. She needs a good kick in the ass.'

She got a sad look on her face, 'But...be patient with her too. From what all we've been through, she kinda deserves to be a man-hater...'

* * *

**A/N:** Ugh. That chapter was painful and tiring. It seems short too. But, it's here! Rejoice. Rejoice, dammit. 

Guess what? Only three more weeks of school for me! Whoopah! Once summer starts, I'll have aLOT more time on my hands, so there will be more updating.

Hmm, there seems to be a little forshadowing at the end, no? What could this mean?Whoever guesses it gets a prize! Someone asked me how long the story would be. I'm guessing at least 50 chapters. Try to hold on until then. R+R!


	9. The park

**A/N:** El reviews! Yo el happy! (Okay, I don't take spanish. TT) Seroiusly though, thank you to all who support me!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ronin Warriors. I just own Rhonda, Maria, Liz, Danny, Mr. Kantu, and whatever other OC I come up with.

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate  
KiahWMConnie  
Chapter Nine: The Park

Rhonda impatiently tapped her foot on the sidewalk. She would occasionally check her watch and shake it in disbelief. What the heck was taking so long?

'We agreed on 3:00. He's supposed to be here _now!_'

"Uuuuugh," she groaned. That lazy-ass of a student was so _late!_

How the heck did he get such good grades anyways?

* * *

"Just gimme a few more seconds," Maria typed away at the computer. 

"Hurry up! I don't want to get caught," Rhonda glanced around nevously.

"Eh, you worry too much," she continued to type, "Trust me, no one is coming. It's midnight, for crying out loud!"

Rhonda opened her mouth to say something, but instead closed it and continued to walk around nervously. There was just something creepy about breaking in a school and hacking into the computers.

Maria rolled her eyes, "Look, you wanna find out more about Ro, but you won't believe anything _I_ say. This way, it's 100 proof."

About ten seconds later, Maria cracked her knuckles, a sign of victory, "Piece of cake."

Rhonda shoved Maria out of the way to see the computer screen, as if her life was in danger if she didn't see his records. She scanned over Rowen's reports, soaking in any information she could about him.

'A's.A's.A's...holy crap. Thejerk does make excellent grades!'

She looked for any flaw that she could find, any little blackmail for the future. There was one thing in the records that was very prominent: all of the tardies. Most of them were for first period.

'So that's his weakness,' Rhonda thought, 'He's a slumber-freak. This is a good thing for me.'

But still, those _grades._ How in the heck...?

Maria caught Rhonda's angonizing face. She held back a chuckle as she quickly explained.

"He gets amazing grades. He _does_ have an IQ of 250, remember?"

Rhonda continued to stare at the screen, "...I don't understand. He's not the personality of a braniac."

"Yeah," Maria shrugged, "But in his free time he usually has his head in some book with words that most people can't understand. That, or playing chess or go or-"

Rhonda slammed her hands on the table, and quite loudly and abruptly.

"And what is this?" She asked with a cute, evil tone.

"That's what I was thinking," Maria huffed as she let go of her chest. That scared her to death!

"It seems that, back in 9th grade, Hashiba got a 0 on a major math test."

Geez. Was she a nit-picker! It was a good thing that Maria didn't care what others thought of her. Otherwise, Rhonda and she wouldn't have gotten along so easily. Or...maybe it was just because she hated Ro. Who knew what when on inRhonda's head.

"I know what that's about," Maria casually chuckled, "Cye told me about _that_ one."

Rhonda listened intently as Maria continued, "Apparently, Rowen studied a TON for that test. Stayed up all night. Right after he was done, he checked his answers in the book and he was positive he had made a 100. Well, when he got it back it was a big, fat, goose egg. He got a 0 because he forgot to put his _name._"

They both laughed heartily, one because of hatred, the other because...well, it was just funny.

"So, what other stories do you have that I can use against him?"

Maria blinked for a second, then crossed her arms and huffed, "Oh, no. I'm not gettin' in the middle of this. You and Ro are both my friends and I don't wanna hafta choose sides."

Rhonda groaned, then decided to play hell-maker with Maria.

She got a sudden evil smirk, "Is Hashiba really your friend, or are you nice to him just because he's Cye's friend?"

Maria's eyes snapped open and she blushed immediatley.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she yelled at her giggling friend.

"Oh come ON!" Rhonda teased between laughs, "Everyone knows it! Except you. You and Brit Boy, himself."

"Oh, yeah? Well...I bet you start liking Ro before it's all over with!"

Rhonda rolled her eyes, "Puh-lease, Maria! Don't make me barf."

* * *

Rhonda again had to shake her head at Maria's remark. She didn't understand how Maria could be in love with her friend's mortal enemy's friend. Gosh, it just wasn't scriptural! 

"Maxwell! I'm here," she heard a voice from behind. The rage returned when she saw the same hideous face framed by a shredded blueberry

"Are we-"

"21 minutes."

"Huh?"

"You are 21 minutes late."

Rowen blinked a few times and rolled his eyes, "Oh, please forgive me, your highness," he whined in sarcasm, "I beg of you, for I am but pond scum!"

"Hmph. At least we agree on one thing," she mumbled, "Well, let's get this over with. We've already lost enough time."

Rowen sighed in defeat and disgust and began to follow the fuming pink-head.

'Why does fate hate me so?' he thought.

Their walk was silent, as it always was. Rowen would occasionally make a goofy, kiss-my-ass type of face behind Rhonda's back. He was so temped to call upon his armor, just to see her get scared and pee her pants. Crap, he hated her.

Rhonda had similar thoughts. All she wanted to do was get away from this guy, and it just backfired more and more. They had only known each other for about a month, but that was all it took for them to disagree. She couldn't think of another person she hated more. Well, except for one person, but he didn't count...

Of all the stupid things, Rowen noticed the weather, "It's getting cloudy. Must be rain coming. Maybe we should head back."

"Well, aren't you Sherlock-freakin-Homes," she whispered to herself.

"How long have we been here?" he asked.

She annoyedly looked at her watch, "It's 3:35."

Rowen inwardly groaned. Time seemed to drag on forever.He still had another 3/4 of an hour with this!

Rhonda hated it as well. It was amazing how alike they thought, unbeknownst to them both. Fate was so cruel as to put them together in this world.

Why did this always happen? Rhonda always managed to find herself with some guy that she loathed. She started to tear up at the memory. No! She mustn't cry now. Not with the dweeb around to see her!

Rowen noticed her twitch a little bit, but thought no more of it. His focus was on the park bench they had just come upon.

"Finally," he sighed, "A place to sit."

He plopped down on the seat and rested his eyes. Rhonda kept her distance, but stood near the bench anyways. They both purposely avoided eye contact with eachother. Rhonda kept her attention on the other pedestrians. She noticed all of the lovebirds walking around; it was almost spring, afterall.

'The fools,'she thought, 'Don't they know any better?'

Rowen noticed what she was looking at. He also noticed something in her eyes. Hate? She seemed to have alot of that. He merely shook his head and sighed.

"Are you done resting yet?" she asked annoyedly, "I'd like to go sometime."

"What else is there to do around here? C'mon. Why dont 'cha sit down? You seem kinda groucy," he replied with a hint of laughter in the last remark.

Rhonda whipped her head around and gave Rowen a cold death-stare.

"Don't mess with me," Rowen remarked before she could say anything, "I'm a warrior."

Rhonda rolled her eyes and stomped off in some direction of the park while Rowen stayed seated for a minute. If only she knew the truth in the statement he just made.

"Hmph. I wanna divorce," he said as he got up and followed her.

Rhonda wanted to scream, to hit something, to hit some_one..._to hit _him._ Just what did he mean by 'warrior'? What a stupid thing to say! She'd get back at him, no matter what. But how? A sudden thought came to mind. That history report was due soon, right? They had recieved specific instructions on the assignment...and that made it very easy for her.

'Oh, Rhon...you are a genius,' she mentally congradulated herself as she plotted her revenge.

She looked down at her watch. Thank...God.

"Time's up," she said to Rowen, who she somehow knew was behind her, "I'm going home. I suggest you do the same."

That was all it took, and they didn't speak until Monday.

* * *

**A/N:** I know, I know! Sooo late. TT I'm so sorry! dodges reader's tomatoes I promise I'll update more! I've just been on this _huge_ FMA kick lately. oO But don't worry! I ain't giving up on the fic! I will finish it no matter what. Until next time, I'll do my best! Also, sorry it's so short. > Again...

PS. For anyone who cares, D.C. was a blast!


	10. The Disk

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews. They're a great inspiration! I can't believe there's already ten chapters. I promise that the other boys will have alot more time in the story as soon as I find my head. Lol.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ronin Warriors. I just own my simple, little OCs.

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate  
KiahWMConnie  
Chapter Ten: The Disk

'Today's the day,' Rhonda thought to herself, as if it was a matter of national security or something. To _her_ it was. If this worked, the Dsweeb would be crushed. She knew she sounded evil, but at this point, she didn't care! She took a deep breath as she entered the school doors.

She entered her history class, casual as ever.

"Class, bring the assignment to my desk one by one," Mrs. Otori instructed.

Rhonda got up with ease. No one knew that, under that cold and calm exterior, was a storm; a storm that was brewing up a plan. She calmly handed her small floppy computer disk to the teacher, just like everyone else. God, she hoped this plan worked.

Shortly after Rhonda had arrived at Han'a High, the history class had recieved an assignment for a big project. The instructions were very detailed. Each student had to do a report on a specific time or event in Japanese history. They were to type their reports on the computer at home and bring the reports to the school on a floppy disk. The assignments would then be graded at the school.

Class went by pretty fast. Now was the time for Rhonda to make her move. She carefully slinked through the hallways, trying to remain unnoticed and unsuspicious. If she remembered her investigations right, The Dweeb had the language class for second period, the period everyone was headed for right now. The language classroom was quite a ways off from his locker, and he wouldn't be there until after second period. Everything was going according to plan.

The hallways were so crowded that no one noticed Rhonda break into Rowen's locker. She dug around for several minutes. Her face was scrunched as if she were digging in horse manure. She finally found what she was looking for, reset the locker as if nothing had happened, and bouncily ran off to her own second period class.

* * *

Rowen entered his third period class, history. He personally liked this class. He always had an interest in history. Little did he know, that in just a few moments, he would hate the history class.

Mrs. Otori went on like she usually did, "Class, bring the assignment to my desk..."

Rowen opened his cluttered history notebook. He went through several papers and whatnot until he came to a pouch that held the disk containing his assignment...or so he thought. Nonetheless, he took a floppy disk to the desk, gave it to the teacher, and sat back down.

For no particular reason, Rowen thought about Rhonda. She was certaintly a mystery, alright. She had mentioned several times about how all men were dirt, or something like that. Just why did she hate men so much? Probably angsted way too much about an ex-boyfriend, was Rowen's guess. He thought back to when they went to the grocery store. _That_ was a fun time...not. Somewhere between the food fight, getting thrown out, and the ice-cold treatment, Rowen decided that he just didn't care to see, hear, or even know her. It seemed that whenever they wound up in the same place, there was sure to be some major fight. Most of the time it was her who started it. Stupid Americans...

The bell rang and everyone started to get up.

"Mr. Hashiba, please come here for a minute," Mrs. Otori called to Rowen before he walked out.

He did what he was told.

"Do you think it's funny to insult me, Mr. Hashiba?" came her icy voice.

Rowen blinked, "W-what? What are you talking about, Mrs. Otori?"

Mrs. Otori wrinkled her nose and pointed to the computer screen, "Is this not your 'project'?"

Rowen leaned forward and saw that the computer screen was blank. He gave her a look of sheer confusion. She pressed a button on the hard drive and out popped a floppy disk. She then placed it in his hand.

"This is the disk you gave me...and there's nothing on it," she informed him.

His pupils narrowed slightly, "M-mrs. Otori, there must be some mistake. Are you sure you opened it correctly?"

"Mr. Hashiba, I have pressed every function key on this keyboard, but i assure you, there is _nothing_ on this disk."

Rowen stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. He didn't get it. Why did it show up blank? There had to be some mistake!

She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, Mr. Hashiba, but unless you give me the _real_ disk, I'll be forced to give you a failing grade."

Rowen scurriedly looked through his backpack and folders. He was _sure_ he gave her the right disk, unless, he lost it. But how could he? He'd admit, he could be careless sometimes, but not this bad!

After what seemed like forever, he dropped his bag to the floor. He couldn't find it. It was gone. That damned disk was gone.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hashiba," she said after a moment.

Rowen picked up his things, and left without a word or any emotion on his face.

* * *

"So, what do you think happened?" Sage asked as Rowen lied on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I don't know," he replied, "I was _sure_ it was the right disk. I went back and checked in my locker and I went back home and gutted my room too! It wasn't anywere."

"Jeez," Kento added, "I don't know how something like that could happen."

"That's what I thought. I know I lose stuff sometimes, but not anything like this."

The five boys were in Sage's room laying across miscellaneous pieces of furniture. Usually they'd be talking and laughing up a storm, but today was different.

"Well," Ryo spoke up, "I know it was a major grade, but with the high marks Ro gets, it shouldn't be too hard to pass." He looked at Rowen, "You'll just need to work hard from now on."

They nodded. Ryo's optomistic leadership could be a real pick-me-up sometimes.

"Cye, you got anything to add?" Kento directed at his friend.

"Hm?" Cye snapped out of deep thought, "Oh...no. I was just thinking."

'Maybe,' Cye thought, 'Just maybe...'

* * *

Rhonda sat on her bed, staring at the prized possesion in her hand. It was nothing more than a square, black piece of plastic, containing small electronic devices that brought up words on a desktop. Who knew that it could be used as a weapon of mass highschool destruction?

She did it. She really did it. It was done and in the past. The Dweeb didn't know what hit him until it was too late. Rhonda was able to switch the disk without any trouble at all. Yet somehow, it was slightly less fulfilling than she thought it would be.

'Oh, come on,' she thought, 'Don't tell me my conscience is acting up now.'

She dismissed that thought. Probably what unsettled her the most was what was inside the disk. She secretly pulled it up on her computer and read over it. No matter how many times she tried to deny it, it was _good_. It could've passed as college level.

'Pull yourself together, Rhon,' she told herself, 'It's not Christian-like to be this way. Still...' she almost giggled, 'My redneck nature calls for a bit of a jealous bone. Wait...did I just admit I was _jealous_ of that punk? No way! He may be book-smart as hell, but I'm ten times better than anyone like him! Especially if they're a _guy_. If anything, he should be jealous of me.'

Satisfied with that thought, she got up off of her bed and walked to her ever-so-neatly-kept closet. She opened the door, took out a shoebox, put the disk in and placed the box in the very bottom of the back corner of the closet. Rhonda could be a little over-paranoid sometimes, but better safe than sorry. She figured, keep the disk hidden for a few weeks, then throw it in the trash can in the alley later, when no one could see her.

It was the perfect crime. The Dorkus was defeated. No one knew what she did. It was all too perfect. Rhonda went to bed last night, hateful as ever, yet somehow slept better with a sadistic smile plastered on her face.

* * *

Rowen stared outside his window into the moonlight. Today had been quite disturbing. He still couldn't get over the fact that he had _lost_ that disk! And where did that blank disk come from? He never remembered having a blank floppy in his backpack.

As he stared out the window, he remembered how things used to be. He wished he could be in his armor again, floating around space in his little bubble where no one could bother him. Highschool drama was starting to take its toll.

**A/N:** This chapter's really short. Sorry TT I've been having some trouble with my compy and I wanted to get at least this in before it crashes or something. I hope it'll be fixed soon.


	11. Thinking

**A/N: **Hello again, everyone! This will probably be the last chapter I can get in before school starts. TT By the way, in case some of you are confused, this is set shortly after second term in their junior year. I know that the Japanese have different school systems, but I kept it like ours so that (maybe) it'll be less confusing. Also, sorry for the crappy title of this chapter, but I couldn't think of anything better.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ronin Warriors, just some OC's, some fanfics, and a crapload of fanart.

A Fine Line Between Love and Hate  
KiahWMConnie  
Chapter Eleven: Thinking

"Go for it, Maria!"

"Hit!"

"BAM!"

"Yeah!"

Rhonda high-fived Maria, "Great spike, there."

"Thanks," Maria huffed as she wiped away the sweat from her forehead, "I told you volleyball's my best sport."

"That's enough for today girls, short day today," Coach Riraku instructed, "Hit the showers. Hold up, Rhonda. I have an assignment for you."

Rhonda stayed with the coach as everyone else greatfully went to clean up.

"I need you to run these papers over to Coach Kindai. He should be with the boys' basketball team."

Rhonda wrinkled her nose, "Coach...you know I hate the stench of sweaty boys."

"That's why I'm sending you," she smiled and winked, "I know that you'd be the last one to flirt with any of the boys while doing business."

Rhonda took the papers and jogged to the boys' gym.

* * *

In the boys' gym, a scrimmage/practice game was happening with the basketball team. Usually, the team was split up into two different teams for practice, which was the case today. 

"Hey, Ro, check it out," Kento nodded in a direction.

Rowen followed Kento's eyes, then spotted what he was looking at, "Oh, no," he whined.

Rhonda was walking around, seemingly looking for someone, and holding her nose. Oh, come on. They didn't stink _that_ bad, did they?

"Boys, keep your eyes on the game, not on the girls!" the coach yelled and the boys were immediatly embarrassed. Rhonda didn't seem to hear, thank God.

"Yo, Hashiba!" one of his teammates yelled and threw the ball at him.

Rowen caught it with ease. He had become quite a great basketball player on his team. Whether it be because of him being so tall, or because of his intense "workout" in the Dynasty, he was one of the best on the team. He dribbled the ball around the other team's players, and came upon the basket. Stopping with just seconds to spare in the scrimmage game, he shot the ball, and it went in the basket.

"Woo-hoo!" came several of his teammates' voices, "Nice one! Way to go, Rowen."

"Nice practice, boys," Coach Kindai said to the team, "We'll call it a day."

Rowen gave the last of his high-fives to everyone. He spotted Rhonda again. She was about thirty feet away standing close to the coach...and she was looking right at Rowen. Her eyes were wide with what seemed like surprise and befuddlement. Rowen straightened up, raised his eyebrow, and gave her a 'beat that' type of look. He then started to walk towards the showers, content with what he had done.

She caught the look and was immediately angered. It took all her strenght to hold herself from running over there and beating the ever-loving snot out of his stick-thin body. She sighed and decided to go through with what she originally came for.

"Coach Kindai," Rhonda spoke up, "These are for you," she handed him the papers.

"Ah, these are from Coach Riraku. Thanks," he took the papers from her, "Stay a minute, I have something I need her to have."

Rhonda mentally rolled her eyes. She hated doing the faculty's errands.

"So, did you see my team? They're great, aren't they?" he boasted.

"Yes, sir. They are very athletic...I have a question though."

"Ask away. I love to hear about my players."

"Well, is that Hashiba a good player?"

"Are you kidding? Didn't you see him? He's one of the starters on the team. Yep, he's been quite the athlete the last few years."

Rhonda gritted her treeth and went a little pink in anger. She did not need to hear that.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he smiled in realization, "I forgot about you and him being mortal enemies."

"Huh? How do you know about that?"

"Girly, _everyone_ knows about you two. I'm surprised the school board didn't do anything after the whole 'grocery shopping' incident."

Rhonda looked down to hide her very red face. Great. Now the Dweeb ruined her reputation too.

"Well, here's the file for your coach."

She took the papers from him and left without a word.

* * *

"Hey, Rowen. Did you see Rhonda come in the gym during practice?" Cye asked as everyone changed clothes in the locker room. 

"Yeah, I saw her once, but that was it. Why?"

"Just wondering. She might've..._looked_ at you," he chuckled, "You were parading around in only your little uniform."

"Don't make me gag, Cye," he tossed his gym clothes into his bag, "And why have you been giving me such a hard time about her lately?"

Cye laughed, "Oh, please. You always tease me about Maria. I figured it was time I could have some fun once in a bloody while."

"That reminds me," Rowen said in a low, menacing voice, "When are you two going to hook up?"

Cye went red. He hated it when Rowen pushed his buttons, yet he did it _all_ the time! He could be quite the teaser and Cye was the perfect target for him. Damn his introverted ways...

"Would you be quiet about that?" Cye shot back at him, his face red as ever.

"Cye, just grow a backbone already and ask her out! I know you like her," he continued to tease.

"N-no I don't! And...even if I did, she wouldn't feel the same way."

"I don't know, man," Kento joined in out of nowhere, "She does seem quite partial to you," he grinned, "Ro's right. Ask her out!"

"Hey...you're supposed to be on my side," Cye whimpered.

"Fine," Kento huffed, "If you won't ask her out, _I_ will."

"Kento!" Cye went even redder, followed by hearty laughs from both of his friends.

"So, Rowen," Kento switched subjects after laughing, "Did you ever find the real disk?"

"No, it wasn't anywhere," he sighed, "But I'm not going to let it get to me. I've almost forgotten about it now."

Actually, that was only halfway true. What happened the other day really disturbed Rowen. Was someone out to get him, or was it just the usual case of bad luck? Nonetheless, he kept it inside. No need to worry his friends. It was probably his own dang fault anyways for losing it.

'Oh, great,' he thought, 'Now I'm starting to think like Ryo.'

* * *

"Danny? Where are the cookies?" Rhonda called to her little brother. 

"I don't know," he drawled out back to her before returning to his homework.

"BANG!"

Danny jumped three feet in the air as his sister kicked open his door.

"Danny...don't lie to me. What did you do with those cookies?"

He released his hold on his chest and sarcastically remarked, "Why? Are you menstral?"

His hind quarters were met with Rhonda's foot as she glared with firey eyes.

"Don't joke about that kind of thing!"

"Alright. Alright," he chuckled as he rubbed his sore butt, "But seriously, I have no clue where the sweets-of-deadly-desire are."

Rhonda gave a sigh. The only guy who could ever cheer her up was him. She gave a small, almost sad chuckle as she walked out of Danny's room.

'That reminds me,' she thought as she continued to look in their tiny kitchen, 'Liz hasn't gotten back yet. I hope she didn't get held up at work again.'

She sat down at the table and rested her head in her arms and let her mind wander off to random things. And random they were...she suddenly thought of Rowen.

"Ugg..." she gave an audible groan.

What was with that guy? When she walked into the gym earlier that day, she wasn't quite expecting what she saw. When she saw him, he was...happy...laughing even. And that look he gave her in the gym drove her nuts. Something in her little plan had failed. The Dweeb was supposed to be crushed, and now, just a few days later, he was perfectly fine!

"Then why do I feel so bad...?" she quietly whispered to herself, staring at the table.

It just didn't make sense...did it? Was God trying to get back at her or something? Deep down, she knew what she did was wrong, but in her mind it was a 'necessary evil.' Why was that?

It all came rushing to her. Back home, she was always the top student in her school. She was always well mannered, extremely smart, very kind, and just an all-around model student. Her clothes were always neatly kept, as was her desk. She was always very proper and polite to everyone. But then...about five years ago, something happened, causing her to change. She was no longer the nicest girl in school. It was because of that, she promised herself that, except for Danny, she would eternally hate men.

Rhonda suddenly teared up.

'Guess I'm still trying to get over that,' she thought as she silently sobbed, 'Oh, God. Danny was right...I must be menstral.'

She gave a chuckle through her sobs. She began to think of when she first came to Toyama. It was two weeks after they moved when she first went to Han'a High. Rhonda felt so alone. And to top it all off, she had woken up late her first day of school. Then she ran into _him._ That was not a memory that she liked. But on the positive side, she did get ot call him a jackass. She smiled lightly. Shortly after she met Maria, her one friend in the whole school.

'Maria!' she thought, 'She always knows how to cheer me up.'

Rhonda picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?" a voice came from the other end.

"M-maria? It's me."

"Oh, hi, Rhon! What's up?"

"Not much, I guess," she sighed.

"Are you okay? You sound like you've been crying."

She gave a hollow chuckle, "Yeah, a little bit."

"What happened? Do I need to come over?"

"No, no. It's okay I just...well...I've just been a little emotional lately, y'know?"

Maria was quiet for a minute, "...Are you menstral?"

Rhonda made a blank face. What was with people these days?

"I don't know," she grunted, "I've just been kinda down."

"Hmm," Maria hummed, "Tell ya what, if it's okay with your sis, wouldja like to come over to my place for the weekend?"

Rhonda's face lit up, "Hells yes! I'll ask her right when she comes home!"

They both giggled.

"Well, it's getting late now," Maria chuckled, "You need to go to bed."

"Oh," Rhonda raised an eyebrow, "And what about you?"

"NEVA!" Maria yelled, "I shall neva sleep! Not until I have the secret formula!"

Rhonda went wide-eyed, then burst into laughter.

"You are so crazy, M! I'm gonna go now. Don't kill anybody while you're still up, okay?"

"Yes, Senator," she replied in mock seriousness, "I shall do my best!"

"And Maria," Rhonda added, "Thanks."

Maria chuckled, "No problem."

As she promised, Rhonda asked Liz about staying with Maria as soon as she got home. She thought about it for a while, then gave her full permission. Rhonda was instanly pleased. She gave her sister a bear hug and promised to work twice as hard around the house while she was there. Liz only chuckled at her kid sister's excitedness.

She never explained to Rhonda why she was a little late; Rhonda was too hyper to care. Truth be told, Rowen stopped by that night. And once again, they talked for quite a while. Liz had learned of the poor boy losing his disk for a big history assignment. He seemed relatively okay, though. Liz had kept her little secret from her sister for a while now, almost a week. Oh well. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

* * *

Rhonda impatiently tapped her desk with her pen. She wanted to get out of this wretched school _now._ She couldn't wait until later this afternoon, because Maria and she were going to spend the whole weekend together and goof off for two and a half days. The bell rang and everyone in chemistry started to get up. 

'Finally,' she thought.

"Mr. Hashiba, Miss Maxwell, stay here for a moment," Mr. Kantu called out to the two students.

'Shit,' she thought.

Rowen had similar thoughts. Now what did he do wrong?

When everyone had cleared out, they stood in front of his desk, quite a distance from each other.

"Apparently," he bagan, "You two don't seem to be doing well in the school project."

Both students blushed slightly.

"It seems that you two have not been filling the required five hours a day together," he continued as they were silent, "As you both know, I'm sure, this project will end next week. But, as a discipline, yours will be extended for two more weeks with other requirements."

"WHAT?" they both gaped.

"Yes, yes, I know. But that's what you get for slacking off."

"But, Mr. Kantu!" Rhonda interjected, "It's just that this guy's a sleazy, ugly pig who doesn't know when too shut up!"

"Yeah," Rowen cut in, "And this girl's an uppity, whiny know-it-all who has a rod shoved up her butt!"

'I've been here too long,' Kantu thought, 'That almost sounded reasonable.'

"Well, it's not _my_ fault that you're booksmart with no common sense," Rhonda insulted.

"And it's not _my_ fault that you can't get wet or you'll melt!" Rowen shot back.

Kantu slammed his fist on the desk which shut them both up quickly.

"The point is," Kantu began threateningly, "That you'll both have to grit your teeth and bear it if you plan on graduating this year."

They both stared dumbfoundedly for a while, then muttered their 'Yes, sir's before walking out. Kantu could hear their quiet bickering as they parted ways.

"You are so dead."

"Bite me!"

"I would, but you'd probably taste nasty!"

Kantu smiled ever so slightly to himself. It rarely happened and was a sight to see.

'This is fun,' he thought to himself, 'I'll make sure to pair those two up in _everything_.'

* * *

"I'm so excited!" Rhonda threw her arms up and stretched once they were outside the school, "Two whole days away from my little brother and stupid chores!" 

Maria laughed at her best friend's behavior, even though she was bubbling with excitement as well. Rhonda had told Maria all about the extended project in their last class. She didn't know whether to comfort her, get mad at the school, or just plain out laugh because it was so funny when those two bickered.

"Yo, Maria? You there?" Rhonda called which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Heh. You know me...always spacing out."

They both chuckled. The walk to Maria's apartment was filled with jokes and laughter. After a while they had stopped speaking Japanese and continued in their native tongue of English.

"It feels so good to just rattle off in American once in a while," Maria giggled when they were inside the shelter of her apartment.

"You mean English?" Rhonda teased.

"No, I mean American. There's a difference, y'know! Believe me, I learned that from being around Cye. It's like a totally different language over there in England! When I met his uncle, he started spewing all sorts of weird Cockney(sp?) or whatever they call it."

"You sure do like him, don't you?" Rhonda chuckled.

"Who? Cye's uncle?"

"No! _Cye._"

"Oh!" Maria went a little pink, "Well, we are good friends...and yes, if it makes you happy, I do have a bit of a crush on him. Okay? Now leave me alone!"

They both laughed again.

"So, just how long have you known him?" Rhonda asked when they had stopped laughing.

Maria thought for a minute, "Oh, seven or eight months now. I don't know. It was sometime last summer."

"So, for a while then?"

"Ya, I guess so," Maria sighed as she looked out the window. She had quite a few great memories with Cye and the other boys.

"So, I guess you're part of their group now, huh?" Rhonda giggled.

"Nah, not really," Maria sighed, but continued when she saw Rhonda's confused face, "I don't know how to explain it. I mean, they welcome me to sit and talk with them and what not, but they just seem really close to one another. They were all good friends before I met them, so I really don't know that much about what went on between them. I've never come _near_ to being as close to them as they are with each other. It's almost that kind of brotherly love that keeps them together."

"Awww," Rhonda interjected in sarcasm, "How sweet. 'Brotherly love.'"

"_Anyways_," Maria stopped her friend fro going any further, "It's not that easy to get close to a group of five guys when you're a girl. It's not that comfortable either."

"Explain please?"

Maria thought a few seconds, "Well...it's like, I can't say anything girlish around them. Like if I see this _really_ hott guy at the mall or something, I can't say it to any of them! It's still in there though, desperate to be heard by someone! But if I say it to one of the guys, I'd either get really awkward stares, or nonstop teasing."

"Plus you'd hurt widdle Cye's feewings!" Rhonda teased.

"RHONDA!" Maria yelled at her now laughing freind.

"I'm just kidding!" she said between giggles, "Go ahead, go ahead."

"Anyways, that's why I'm so glad you came to town."

Rhonda stopped giggling and listened closely to her friend.

"It's so refreshing to have a friend of the same gender to joke with when you've been around guys for so long."

"I thought you liked being around those guys, though."

"I do! They're a ton of fun! We can rough house and tease each other and goof off and have a great time while doing it!...But...sometimes you just gotta have someone beside you who can relate. Y'know?" She gave her friend a sentimental look.

Rhonda gave the same look back, "You have no idea."

Maria sighed audibly, then gave a sudden giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I was just thinking. I have such a diverse group of friends. I just wonder how it turned out this way, is all."

"Y'know, I've never really paid that much attention to the other guys you hang around. Just wondering, what are they like?"

Maria's face lit up as if she were waiting for someone to ask that, "I'd be glad to tell you! Now where to begin...

"Well, first, there's Cye. I'm sure you know pretty much who he is. Real sweet and shy guy. He's extremely considerate! And he's got those gorgeous sea-blue eyes-"

Rhonda cleared her through in a suggestive manner.

"Oops! Anyways, then, there's his best bud, Kento. That's the guy with the ashy-black hair and a ton of muscle. He's quite a character. Pretty much the total opposite of Cye. He's pretty hard-headed, but he's very outgoing and _extremely_ funny.

"There's also Ryo,that super-athletic one with the shaggy black hair.He's a pretty sweet guy. He's very passionate about whatever he does and he seems like a great leader-type. He's also a bit of a worry-wart.

"And finally," she concluded, deciding to leave Rowen out of the explination, "There's Sage. Gee, I probably know the least about that guy out of the five," she began to go off in her own little world like she so often did, "He's always seemed like the snobbish type to me. Ya, he always dresses so nice, but he's so cold towards other people. And the fact that the girls follow him around like sheep is almost sickening."

"You said it!" Rhonda giggled.

"I don't think he likes me very much," she giggled right along with her friend.

"Well, you are kind of annoying," Rhonda teased.

"I'm not annoying!" Maria defended, "I'm just a little too much for most people to handle!"

"_Right_," Rhonda rolled her eyes and smiled, "And I suppose you putting that cherry bomb in the whining cheerleader's locker a couple of weeks ago was just 'a little too much'?"

They both laughed like maniacs. They had only been at Maria's place for a few hours and they had the whole weekend in front of them! This party was just getting started.

* * *

Rowen streched his back after he put his milk glass in the sink. He was so ready for bed, he could hardly stand it. Then his stare caught the little, blinking, red light by his phone.

'Great,' he thought, 'Eh, might as well check the answeing machine.'

The first two messages were from his dad's co-workers. Rowen paid little interest to them, but he became quite attentive when he heard a familiar, female voice.

"Rowen? Honey? It's me. I know I told you that I'd be coming soon. I'm sorry, but the event I was supposed to be reporting on has been delayed for quite a while. I will come, I promise! But it will probably be at least another half of a year. Until then, hugs and kisses! Bye bye, sweetheart."

Rowen released the breath he had been holding. Another...half a year? That was a pretty long time. He had mixed emotions at the moment. Should he feel relieved? Sorrowful? Worried? His emotions could be quite confusing...even for agenius like him. So, he decided to solve this problem like he did most.

"Guess I'll sleep on it."

**A/N:** Well, there you go folks. See? Rhonda's not _totally_ evil. (Rowen fans: my ass!) I know I haven't updated in a while, but school just started for me and it's been sucking up ALL of my free time. TT So, I decided to make this chapter a little longer to (hopefully) hold you guys over. I'll update as much as possible as soon as things start to pick up.

I'll see you guys soon. Please review!


End file.
